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Thursday, April 18, 2013

King's Speech: P is for POLITE

Regular readers of The Shellshank Redemption know how much I enjoy a good quote (see Motivational Mondays) and that I’m a huge fan of Stephen King (see the King of All Days Part I and Part II.) So, for the 2013 A-Z Challenge, I decided to combine the two, using some of my favorite King quotes about reading, writing and life in general. Enjoy!

*****

If you expect to succeed as a writer,

rudeness should be the
second-to-least of your concerns.

The least of all should be POLITE society and
what it expects.

If you intend to write as truthfully as you can,

your days as
a member of polite society are numbered anyway.

(Stephen King)

I so wish I had figured this out a long time ago! I often
straddle the fence between “normal” and “myself.” Every once in awhile, I hop
off and spend some time in one camp or the other, but I ultimately find myself
sitting on the fence again. One foot trails along the side of doing and saying
and being what others seem to want or else pretty much losing their support and
respect. The other foot dangles over the “what other people think of me is none
of my business” ground.

If only truly being me felt more like a beginning than an
ending - of the past, of relationships,
etc. But maybe it’s all in how you look at it….

I've learned to pick and choose my spots carefully when I have something to say. Often descretion is the best way to go. But as a writer, one better not upset me as the could end up being a character I kill off hahaha!

I try to live by that quote from King, and write without embarrassment or restraint ... but sometimes I come back to those brave words and cringe. And I've realized that if I can't bring myself to say the eff word at writer's group, or read steamy scenes out loud, I probably shouldn't have them in my manuscript.... oh well. I do try!

Cathy - I don't know. I think writing them is one thing, reading them aloud is another. I struggled the first time I read "curse" words out loud to a crit group, even though it was relevant to the character and story.